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Farmer dies after becoming entangled in a power-take-off shaft.

Authors

Minnesota Department of Health

Source

Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 97MN045, 1998 Apr; :1-2

A 48-year-old male farmer (victim) died after he became entangled in a power-take-off shaft. The victim, his father and another worker were operating a small privately owned sawmill that was used to produce rough cut lumber. At the time of the incident the saw was powered by the power-take-off shaft of a 65-70 horsepower farm tractor. The horizontal power-take-off shaft was approximately 30 inches above the ground and was completely unguarded. The workers had placed an uncut log on the sawmill carriage to begin the process of squaring the log prior to cutting it into individual boards. After the tractor's power-take-off shaft was engaged, the victim stepped across the rotating shaft. His clothing became entangled in the rotating shaft and caused him to sustain multiple trauma as he was thrown against the ground by the rotating shaft. The coworkers disengaged the tractor's power-take-off and immediately placed a call to emergency personnel. They arrived shortly after being notified and pronounced the victim dead at the scene prior to freeing him from the power-take-off shaft. MN FACE investigators concluded that, in order to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences, the following guidelines should be followed: 1. all rotating shafts should be covered by shields to prevent workers from becoming entangled.